SIALKOT: Intermediate students in Sialkot have asked the governmental authorities to postpone their exams.
The students gathered at Clock Tower and Allama Iqbal Chowk to protest against the holding of exams after Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood allowed exams to take place.
“Our request is just that the exams be delayed so we get more time to study or they may be cancelled altogether,” said a student.
The protesters complained that due to Covid-19, classes were not taking place on campus. “We went to college only for a month this year,” said a student, urging the authorities to “take an exam based on just a few chapters then.”
The education ministry has decided to hold intermediate and matriculation exams in the third week of June.
Moreover, the federal education ministry has issued a no-objection certificate to the British Council to conduct “special” O level exams from July 26 till August 6, which the government had earlier postponed amid a surge in coronavirus cases and deaths.
“We issued an NOC today to British Council, allowing it to hold special O level exams from July 26 to August 6. This will facilitate O level students to start A level or FA/Fsc from September. This kind of exam in July is unprecedented and I am happy that Cambridge is arranging it,” the education minister tweeted on Thursday.
A letter shared by the minister that was sent to the country director of British Council-Pakistan stated that the agency “is fully authorised to conduct [a] mini exam series from July 26 to August 6, subject to all approved/notified Covid-19 SOPs existing for ‘A’ level [exams]”.
In a second tweet, Mahmood said the pandemic had “created immense difficulties in all walks of life but [e]specially in education”.
“We have been taking difficult decisions to ensure that education/learning continues. Every decision has pros and cons but for us the interest/welfare of students is always paramount,” he added.
In late April, the education minister had announced that no examinations would take place in the country until June 15 as Covid-19 cases and deaths were on a rise.
He had also announced the postponement of O and A level exams that had already started and said the exams would now take place in the October-November cycle. However, the government had allowed A2 exams to be held at the time to facilitate the students who wanted to appear for the purpose of applying to foreign universities.
Mahmood had said at the time that the decision to postpone exams was taken to address the “health concerns of students and parents”.
The decision had come after widespread calls from students, activists and politicians for the government to cancel the Cambridge exams in view of the third coronavirus wave.
Separately, the Balochistan education department suspended summer vacations in those areas experiencing cold weather after modifying the schedule of short and long-term holidays.
The education authorities in Balochistan changed the schedule of short and long duration vacations of schools across the province. Following the decision, the short holidays of school students were suspended in specific areas that will experience cold weather.
In a notification, the authorities stated that the summer vacations in the said areas will not be observed from August 21 to 31 in schools.
Moreover, the summer vacations were also reduced up to 15 days in those areas having hot weather conditions as the annual holidays will be observed from June 1 to July 31.
